Art of a recession – Studio Art Direct shares how to market your art business in an economic downturn
Janelle Fendall Baglien, president of Studio Art Direct and author of the article, warns that the list is long and to achieve each step could take as much as a year, but urges artists and art related businesses not to be overwhelmed. Just chip away at it, now, while you have the time.
Studio Art Direct
For artists and galleries, a recession can be a scary time. But an economic downturn can provide great opportunity.
An economic downturn is a great time to market.
Tough times may actually provide us our best opportunity to reach out to art customers with little or no competition because so many of our competitors are doing just the opposite of that in an attempt to save money.
Competition is easing.
Everyone has the bravery to seek out clients in good times, creating an atmosphere of extreme competition. Reaching your customer with your message proves to be exceedingly difficult. NOW is the time to have faith in your art or service, to reach out to your customers and to secure your success for the future.
A slow down in art sales means time.
Time to get your business in order and create marketing systems. Update your website, create postcards that are generic and all-purpose, photograph images, update your resume, create effective electronic files for your art with title, size and price of each image in jpeg format (low res for emailing), produce an online and offline portfolio for presentations to galleries, clean and organize your studio. Think positively, be an example of confidence, and get ready for 2009.
12 Steps & cost effective ways to market now:
Build that database.
I can’t express how important it is for you, whether you are with a gallery or not, to build a powerful email and mail database. Get all those business cards you have in a pile on to your computer – especially email addresses. Take one day each week to put all new contacts in your database. Treat it like gold and back it up often.
Email is the most effective and inexpensive ways to market a visual medium like art – use it! I recommend Outlook (PC) or Entourage (MAC) for an excellent email and database system.
Submit an article online.
Everyone knows about the internet, but not everyone knows the free ways to get exposure on the internet. You can write an article about your art, how you do it (how to), your clients, or anything somewhat newsworthy and submit it to one of the many sites that accept them. At the end of every article you should have one succinct paragraph that begins with About (You). Here is where you mention your art business and have a link to your website. Each site has it’s guidelines on how the articles are to be written, so make sure to follow them. This will help establish you as a leader in your industry as long as the information you share is helpful and not self-promoting. Go beyond art websites (big competition) try more open source like www.searchwarp.com
Use guerilla marketing techniques.
Use www.overnightprints.com or www.modernpostcards.com and have some postcards made (and don’t forget business cards!). During your slow time, go down to your city art walk or art events or a busy cultural event and hand them out. Put your message directly into the hands of prospective customers. Make sure you have an attractive offer. This could mean a discount on your art or a small art card giveaway. Be creative. Entice people to visit your studio, gallery or website.
Take care of your best asset – previous art buyers.
Client retention is the best form of marketing. Finding a new art buyer is 100 times harder than selling to your existing or past clients. So treat anyone who has bought art from you like they are a cherished aunt. Send them a Christmas card this year (make them yourself). Throw a “client appreciation” party in your studio or home. Stay in touch with them. Love them. Build a relationship with them. Their referrals and future buying power are your very best asset. You should have a separate or tagged database that includes art buyer clients only (for the above purposes).
Max out online opportunities.
Set up an account on www.myspace , www.facebook and www.linkedin . You can set up an account with a social networking site, giving more information about your business and connecting to other businesses to network and exchanges leads.
Start a blog .
Update it often with new work and thoughts about your process of creating. Use www.wordpress.com It is my favorite – lots of template choices,user friendly and FREE. I recently discovered you can download Movie Media to the blog. I haven’t done it yet. But have someone video tape you in your studio talking about why you create, how you create, your process. It is a great way to create a bio that sells. Load it to your blog. Load it to your website. Load it to www.youtube.com and send the link to your database.
Change your website address.
Your website address should be YOUR name – this will help your website pop up when people Google you. To buy a new domain name or check availability of it, go to www.dotster.com or www.verio.com . Have your new domain name DNS directed to your existing website.
Register your blog and website.
Be sure to register your domain website and blog with all major search engines and online directories. Most is free. Do not use paid services. They do not work unless you can spend a fortune. The goal is to get your name all over the web! Sign up for Google analytics as well. You can track who people are that come to your website.
Cross pollinate with other businesses.
If you’re feeling the pinch of the economy, most likely other businesses in your area/industry are feeling it as well. Find other businesses that don’t compete with you but have similar clients. Try to get a deal to hang your art or exchange postcards promoting each other’s business. Or if your business is online, do a link exchange with other businesses. Do not over due the link exchange or Google may lower your organic search results. Be selective in who you work with both online and in the brick and mortar world.
Consider submitting to art publishers.
Yes, a double edged sword, but art publishers will get you exposure, especially online. And you can receive a small but steady income. Check out www.editionslimited.com as a great example of quality and popularity.
Send out Press Releases.
Press Releases can be a very effective way to bring attention to your art business. If you have something that impacts the community or are inspired to create because of something that impacts your community, then you can have someone write a press release for you. If you hire someone to do it for you, make sure they know how to write and distribute it. Again, remember the topic must be something that impacts the community and not just a self-serving piece promoting your business. Personally, I like www.fineartamerica.com for press releases. It is free and fairly easy and art related. It also gets picked up readily by Google. Look at other free PR sites on the web. Type in a search – “free press release websites” and cull through them.
Create a list with full contact info for ALL press related contacts and websites. Use it often.
Paid services will submit your release to specific regions or trade publications. It is worth the cost for an important release. In my opinion, PRNEWSWIRE and BUSINESS WIRE are the best if you are going to pay: http://www.businesswire.com http://www.prnewswire.com
Create a new body of work.
If your current body of work is not selling, take this time to open your self up to new ideas and let the creative juices flow. Keep marketing your current body of work, but play around with new ideas now. Personally, I believe with a recession comes the desire for the public to want to be surrounded by uplifting and inspirational colors, art and ideas. Be the messenger of hope.
To get an idea of what colors will be popular in the next year or so, look to new car colors and home accessories – they lead trends.
About Studio Art Direct
Studio Art Direct is a professional corporate art services firm serving the West Coast. Clients include interior designers, architects, art consultants, medical facilities, hotels, multifamily, commercial, corporations and institutions. http://www.studioartdirect.com is the largest resource for emerging and established art created by artists from Oregon and Washington in the U.S. The website features all mediums including original paintings, limited editions, sculpture, photography and glass works. The online gallery is open to the general public 24/7.
About the Author
Janelle Baglien, President of Studio Art Direct, is an artist and 20 year veteran of corporate marketing and communications.
Contact:
Janelle Baglien, President
Studio Art Direct Demystifies Commissioning Art for Corporate Projects.
Tetherow Golf Club Art Commission
Portland, Oregon – It is a rare occasion when we can find the right number of artworks, in the right size, in the right colors, in the right style for a corporate art project. So often times, more often than not, we commission works of art specifically for resort, office, medical, or hospitality projects.
Commissioning art is a leap for most clients, even for design professionals. People are simply more comfortable buying what they can touch, feel and immediately relate to. But the satisfaction of commissioning art specifically designed to capture the feeling, aura, image or design of a company or interior style is an exciting and rewarding process for everyone involved.
Rarely do you have an opportunity to breathe your ideas into a work of art. Who would dare? But many artist leap at the opportunity. It pushes them into places sometimes unknown. Allows them to spread their creative wings on a work of art guaranteed to sell and often is some of the best work they create.
Commissioned works of art can bring elements of surprise and a feeling of ownership to the buyer that simply can not be gained in buying off the shelf.
Here are some helpful tips for commissioning artworks for corporate art projects:
Start with size:
Parameters always start with size and substrate – assuming the artist you have chosen is working within the style, palette and genre you already prefer. So start with size. If you have some graphic skills, take pictures of the walls you want to place art on, measure something to make it to-scale, and place an artwork image into the photograph in the size you want. You will find that often the size that you think you need is not big enough. Creating a to-scale image will help you understand the balance of space to artwork. This is the starting place for all Studio Art Direct projects. It is often required in projects that are still in construction document form – meaning the space is not built yet. We use graphic design programs to “program” a project including floorplans showing location, and to-scale images of art sizes and concepts in elevation form – often including the specified wall colors, furniture swatches and flooring.
Choose a color palette:
We know, we have heard the old saying “art doesn’t have to match the couch.” And it does not if you are a collector. But if you are looking for artwork for a corporate project often the interior design scheme and style is of utmost importance. A few basic color swatches is the perfect place to start. When the options for artwork are in the millions, honing down selections to a palette helps define the process and makes what could be overwhelming manageable.
Choose a style, genre and medium:
There are some basic guidelines we often share with clients. If you are a medical facility, stay away from red and abstract paintings. Instead consider landscapes that are soothing – they are proven to lower heart rates and aid in healing. If you are a condo developer longing to attract the young and hip, choose abstracts and large graphics. If you want to create a feeling of serenity and peace, go with colors in the same palette as the room in soft, subtle, minimalist shapes. If you want to create excitement, go with bold strokes in contrasting colors to the space. For a style that seems to appease all the art connoisseurs that may be weighing in on your choice, abstracted landscapes will make 68% of employees, customers and visitors happy. Know that you will never get 100% consensus.
Choosing a medium, such as oil, acrylic, watercolor, monoprints, photographs, encaustic, or mixed media, doesn’t require knowledge of the medium itself. What you are looking for is a style of art. How the artist gets there should be left to the creative professional. But know that watercolor, photographs and print-makings will most likely need to be framed and under glass. This incurs additional expense.
Find the right artist, for the right project:
Artists are enormously talented and can shift from medium, to style, to genre depending on the body of work they are currently creating. But working within their current groove will garner the best results. So, search online at sites like www.studioartdirect.com or from thousands of artist websites and find a style, palette, medium and genre you like and contact that artist with your ideas. Don’t make a watercolorist paint with oils. Don’t ask a figurative painter to do landscapes. Don’t ask an abstract artist to do realism. Chances are they can do it, but there studio and mind is set up for creating their current body of work style – so find the right artist for the right project.
Know that some artist are offended when asked to create a commission. And that is perfectly OK. Don’t feel jolted. Move on. There are many artist who enjoy the commissioning process and are more than happy to work with you. It is a vetting process.
Communicate your vision:
Your vision and ideas should be communicated to the artist verbally. Talk with several artists. Find someone you feel comfortable with and who you feel understands your vision, budget and goals.
Get it in writing:
At Studio Art Direct, we have Letters of Engagement for every commission. The Engagement clearly states our expectations and the process including progress viewings of artwork, schedules, payment terms and conditions. Remember that contracts are merely an outline of expectations for both parties. Conflict only arises when expectations are not met – so spell it out. Revise as needed and get a signature. And remember, no matter the contract, the artwork is always the sole ownership of the artist. For the life of the art. Any use beyond the contract agreement is expressly prohibited by federal law.
If you don’t have “an artistic bone in your body” – though we at Studio Art Direct would challenge that – then speak your vision through an artist. You will achieve great satisfaction, and so will the artist.
